Eight points from their last five games have boosted Wigan's hopes of League One survival and allowed fans to dream. 

The last 12 months have been nightmarish for Latics supporters – who have seen the club go into administration, get relegated, get stripped of its assets via the transfer market and lose its manager – but they could yet end 2020/21 with a flourish.

Wigan are now just a point away from safety and have a game in hand over Northampton Town in 20th, hinting that there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

Strong performances in their two games around the Easter weekend could catapult the Latics up the table and out of the relegation zone.

While supporters nervously await their next chance to see Wigan in action, we've scoured Transfermarkt's records to look back at some of the most experienced heads ever to pull on the club's colours.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 oldest players to ever feature for Wigan Athletic...

We kick off our list with former Latics defender Matt Jackson.

The right-back spent six years with Wigan after joining from Norwich City on a free transfer in 2001.

Jackson made more than 160 appearances for the North West club before leaving to join Watford.

His last – a 3-0 defeat to West Ham United in April 2007 – came at 35 years, 6 months, and 9 days old.

After brief spells at Blackpool and Watford he retired in 2008.

With nearly 300 appearances for Wigan to his name, Emmerson Boyce was a fantastic servant for the North West club.

A club stalwart during the Latics time in the Premier League in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the former Barbados international also captained the Latics when they famously beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Boyce was in his 20s when he joined the club from Crystal Palace but played his final game for them at the age of 35 years, 7 months, and 8 days old.

That match came on the final day of the 2014/15 Championship season and saw Wigan beaten 3-0 by Brentford.

David Perkins' three years with the Latics came in the post-Premier League era, seeing him make nearly 100 appearances for the North West club between 2015 and 2018.

Originally arriving on a free transfer from Blackpool, the midfielder missed just one League One game as Wigan were promoted to the Championship in his first season at the club.

His made fewer contributions the following season and featured just 13 times in the league in his final season at the DW Stadium as the club were promoted again.

Perkins' final game for the Latics was the last of the 2017/18 League One season and saw him come off the bench at the age of 35 years, 10 months and 14 days in a 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.

Given goalkeepers usually outlast their outfield contemporaries, it's no surprise that Gary Walsh is one of four shot-stoppers on this list.

The Englishman's final game for the Latics came in April 2004 at the age of 36 years and 13 days, with Wigan beaten 1-0 by Wimbledon at the DW Stadium that day.

Walsh would retire as a player in 2006, taking up a coaching role with the Latics.

Roles at Derby County, Hartlepool United, Hull City, and Aston Villa would follow and he is now the head goalkeeping coach at West Bromwich Albion.

Jonas Olsson's time at Wigan may have been brief but he still earns a place on this list.

The experienced Swedish defender joined the Latics in February 2019 and made six appearances before leaving at the expiration of his contract in July that year.

His time at the DW Stadium would prove the last stop in his career as the defender retired in September 2019.

Olsson played his last game for Wigan, and indeed the last of his professional career, on the last day of the 2018/19 at the age of 36 years, 1 month, and 25 days old.

Gary Roberts announced his retirement earlier this month and having spent three years at Wigan, comes in at number five on this list.

The winger swapped Fratton Park for the DW Stadium in August 2017 and went on to make 66 appearances in total for the North West clubs.

His most important contributions for the Latics came as a bit-part player in the 2017/18 League One promotion-winning campaign.

Roberts left the club to join Welsh club Bala Town in November last year, with his final game coming at the age of 36 years, 6 months, and 1 day – a 3-2 defeat to Gillingham.

Dutch centre-back Arjan de Zeeuw was 37 years and 27 days old when he played his final game for Wigan – a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on the final day of the 2006/07 Premier League campaign.

In all the defender made more than 100 appearances for the Latics across two spells for the club.

Originally, he joined from Barnsley in 1999 and left to join Portsmouth in 2002.

Three years later he moved back from the South Coast to the North West, staying a further two years at Wigan.

De Zeeuw featured for Coventry City and ADO '20 Heemskerk before retiring in 2009.

John Filan's six years at the DW Stadium brought 184 appearances in total but ultimately ended with him second-choice to another of the goalkeepers on this list, Mike Pollitt.

The Aussie shot-stopper joined the Latics from Blackburn Rovers in 2001 and played every game in their 2002/03 and 2004/05 promotion-winning campaigns.

He left at the expiration of his contract in 2007 and retired not long after.

Filan's final game for Wigan came in April 2007 at the age of 37 years, 2 months and 20 days old with the Latics losing 3-0 to West Ham United at the DW Stadium.

Not only did Mike Pollitt take John Filan's place in the Wigan starting XI soo after his arrival, he also takes the spot above him in this list.

The first of two shot-stoppers that featured for the Latics beyond the age of 40, Pollitt first joined in 2005 and remained at the club until his retirement in 2014.

That nine-year spell saw him make just over 50 appearances for the North West club, however, having spent long periods out on loan and as a backup.

Pollitt's final game came at the age of 40 years, 10 months, and 17 days old with Wigan beating 1-0 in the FA Cup and, fittingly, keeping a clean sheet.

He is currently the goalkeeping coach at Preston North End.

A stalwart of the modern English game, Jussi Jääskeläinen's two-year spell at Wigan came near the end of his career.

The Finnish shot-stopper joined the Latics after making his name first at Bolton and then at West Ham United.

Jääskeläinen played a key role in Wigan's League One promotion-winning campaign in 2015/16 but left the club after a 2016/17 season that saw him feature only nine times.

He was 41 years, 8 months and 14 days old when he played his final game for the club – a 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town – making him the oldest player in Latics' history, according to Transfermarkt.

A brief spell in the Indian Super League was followed by retirement.